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U.S. stock futures point to a mixed start for Wall Street on Thursday, as investors react to hawkish signals on interest rates from the Federal Reserve; Comcast launches a $65 billion offer for assets of Twenty-First Century Fox; Microsoft challenges Amazon in checkout-free retail.

1. -- Stocks Mixed After Fed Rate Hike

U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed start for Wall Street on Thursday, June 14, as investors reacted to hawkish signals on interest rates from the Federal Reserve.

Contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4 points, futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.5 points and Nasdaq futures declined 4.50 points. Stocks slumped on Wednesday, June 13, after the Fed raised rates for the second time in 2018.

The Fed's decision to raise rates, taking its base lending rate to 2%, was hardly a surprise for investors. But the upbeat tone from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell during his question-and-answer session with the media, combined with a more robust outlook for growth and inflation, now point to at least two more rate hikes between now and the end of the year.

"The economy is doing very well ... most people who want to find jobs are finding them. Unemployment and inflation are low," Powell said. "The overall outlook for growth remains favorable."

The U.S. economic calendar on Thursday includes weekly Jobless Claims at 8:30 a.m. ET, and Retail Sales for May at 8:30 a.m.

Michaels Cos. (MIK) tumbled 16.1% in premarket trading after the company said same-store sales in its fiscal first quarter rose 0.4%, missing forecasts that called for an increase of 0.7%. Michaels also said it expects same-store sales in the second quarter to be flat.

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2. -- Comcast Offers $65 Billion for Fox

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) on Wednesday launched a $65 billion offer for assets of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (FOXA) , a day after a judge cleared AT&T Inc.'s (T) purchase of Time Warner Inc. (TWX) .

Comcast offered $35 a share for Fox, which the bidder said represents a 19% premium to Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS) offer for certain Fox assets.

Disney offered 0.2745 a share of its stock for each share of Fox in December, which comes to $29.18 a share based on Wednesday's closing stock prices. The total value of Disney's bid comes to $52.4 billion, or more than $66 billion including assumed debt.

Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts wrote a letter to the Fox board on Wednesday, expressing his disappointment that Fox agreed to sell much of its film, television and international distribution assets to Disney last December.

"We have long admired what the Murdoch family has built at Twenty-First Century Fox," Roberts wrote. "After our meetings last year, we came away convinced that the 21CF businesses to be sold are highly complementary to ours, and that our company would be the right strategic home for them."

Microsoft is developing systems that track what shoppers add to their carts, the people told Reuters. Microsoft has shown sample technology to retailers from around the world and has had talks with Walmart Inc. (WMT) about a potential collaboration, the people said.

4. -- Apple Unveils New iPhone Security Feature

Apple Inc. (AAPL) said it was working on a new security feature that could make it harder for law enforcement to retrieve data from iPhones, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The new software feature, called USB Restricted Mode, is being beta-tested by Apple. It prevents other devices - personal computers, for example - from accessing data on the iPhone via its Lightning port an hour after a phone is last unlocked.

Apple said Wednesday that it was designed to improve the security of Apple's devices against all kinds of potential intruders. "We have the greatest respect for law enforcement, and we don't design our security improvements to frustrate their efforts to do their jobs," the company said in a statement.

5. -- Chicago Taps Musk's Boring Company for High-Speed Rail Line

Elon Musk's The Boring Company has been chosen by Chicago tobuild an express service from downtown to O'Hare International Airport reaching speeds up to 150 mph.

A spokesman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel confirmed the selection of The Boring Company on Wednesday. Emanuel and Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc. (TSLA) , will make the formal announcement Thursday.

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China's economy slowed to its weakest growth rate since 1990, official data confirmed Monday, as a damaging trade war with the United States, and efforts to curb domestic pollution and reckless lending, took a major bite out of the world's second largest economy.